Red Wings skate past Blackhawks

Associated Press |
May 20, 2013
| Updated: May 20, 2013 11:04pm

Detroit Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg, right, of Sweden celebrates his goal with Pavel Datsyuk (13), of Russia, during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

DETROIT - The young Detroit Red Wings have made the mighty Chicago Blackhawks look vulnerable, beating them two straight times to gain an advantage in their last playoff matchup as Western Conference rivals.

Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller scored 31 seconds apart midway through the second period, and Pavel Datsyuk restored a two-goal lead in the third to help Detroit beat Chicago 3-1 on Monday night and take a 2-1 lead in the second-round series.

As good as the Wings have looked - scoring six straight goals to earn momentum - their hard-driving coach isn't ready to celebrate.

That's an understatement. But if the seventh-seeded Red Wings keep playing like they are, the top-seeded Blackhawks will have a long offseason to wonder what went wrong in a season that looked like it was going to be special.

"It takes something like this to slap you in the face, so to speak, to really understand what adversity is and how tough the playoffs can be," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said.

Babcock won his 77th postseason game, matching Chicago's Joel Quenneville for the most among active coaches and trailing Pat Burns by one for eighth on the all-time list.